Full refunds and free flight in next class for flyers of downgraded air tickets, says DGCA

New Delhi, Dec 23: Passengers will soon be compensated for any involuntary downgrade of their tickets for a particular class by an airline, with aviation regulator DGCA preparing to put in place new norms.

Once the norms come into force, the airline concerned will have to refund the full value of such tickets, including taxes, and also the affected passenger will be flown free of cost in the next available class, according to DGCA.

Against the backdrop of complaints from air travellers about their tickets booked for a particular class being downgraded by airlines, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is now in the process of amending the existing regulations to address passenger grievance.

''The amendment will allow the passenger, who is downgraded involuntarily from his booked class of ticket, to receive the full value of ticket, including taxes, as refund from the airline and the airline will carry the passenger free of cost in the next available class,'' it said in a statement on Friday.

After stakeholder consultations, final regulations will be issued by the watchdog. A senior DGCA official said the new norms are likely to come into force in February next year.

The watchdog said that in view of rapid expansion of air services and the increase in passenger traffic volumes, it has been noticed that sometimes airlines downgrade passengers' tickets. ''For example when a passenger who has booked his ticket on first class, business class or premium economy is downgraded to a lower class at the time of check-in due to various reasons like unserviceable seats, change of aircraft, overbooking, etc,'' the statement said, adding that to deal with such a situation, the norms will be amended.

DGCA is in the process of amending its Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) pertaining to 'facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights' to protect the rights of air travellers affected by downgrading of their ticket, it added.

Currently, there are provisions for providing compensation to air passengers in case of denied boarding and flight cancellation.

For denied boarding, a passenger is entitled to various compensation depending on the situation. If the airline has done overbooking, then it can ask for volunteers in exchange for benefits. In case an airline has denied boarding to a passenger against confirmed booking, then there will be no compensation provided the airline concerned arranges an alternate flight within one hour of the original scheduled departure.

If the alternate flight is within 24 hours of the original departure, a passenger has to be paid 200 per cent of one way fare and fuel charge, with the amount capped at Rs 10,000. The compensation will be 400 per cent of one way fare plus fuel charge and the total amount will be limited at Rs 20,000 in case the alternate flight is after 24 hours of the original departure. In case a passenger does not opt for an alternate flight, then the airline concerned has to give full refund, and 400 per cent of one way fare plus fuel charge, with the amount cap at Rs 20,000.

According to DGCA norms, if an airline expects cancellation of a flight, then the same has to be informed to the passenger and also an alternate flight at least two weeks in advance has to be arranged. If an airline cancels a flight in less than two weeks before and up to 24 hours of booked flight, then the airline concerned has to arrange an alternate flight within two hours of the original departure or refund the ticket.

As per the regulator, if an airline cancels a flight in less than 24 hours of the booked flight, then various compensation are provided depending on the situation. If the block time for the flight is less than one hour, then the passenger has to be paid one way fare plus fuel charge and the total amount is capped at Rs 5,000. If the block time is less than two hours, then it will be one way fare along with fuel charge and the total amount can be a maximum of Rs 7,500.

In cases where the block time is more than two hours, the compensation will be one way fare plus fuel charge, and the amount is capped at Rs 10,000. Generally, block time refers to the duration of a flight.